Music Champion of the Year – Polly Snowden

Polly is known across the city as an advocate for local musicians and live music, across many genres. Her professional connections to John Butler and Michael Franti have raises the profile of our city significantly when she promotes local acts, leveraging her past work to the best advantage for the local music scene. Polly has taken on roles in the past year which include director, photographer, videographer, producer, creator, documentary maker, festival creator, collaborator and community development worker and she has a strong connection to several Indigenous communities which significantly extends the reach of her work. She orchestrated Summertime Sessions in the Village and planned for its 2015 roll-out in 2014. She launched Pollination Music in 2014 which builds on the work she did to found Rabbit Radio and she regularly appears on ABC Gold Coast to talk live music and gig guides. She created in the Wonderland Festival (2006-07) which featured 50 bands and local artists and is currently engaged by More Gold Coast to showcase local GC talent with music-related video work. She was an important member of the team with a vision for transforming Miami Marketta into a live music venue including the creation of video content for The Shed Sessions. In 2014 she was instrumental in attracting globally significant musicians to the Bentley Blockade – including John Butler, Mama Kin, Nahko, Ash Grunwald, Xavier Rudd and Declan Kelly. She is also a member of the professional team of mentors delivering the Indie Now program funded by the City of Gold Coast.